2021 B. Wise Vineyards Lucky Well Vineyard Pinot Noir

When Brion Wise spotted the former Sonoma cattle ranch property in the 1990s with a dirt road, and no easements, buildings or infrastructure to speak of, he didn’t hightail it out of there; he had found his paradise.

An engineer who grew up on a farm in rural Washington, founded his B. Wise Vineyards there, planting the vineyards in 2002 and constructing a home for himself and his wife Ronda West Wise.

The winery specializes in single-vineyard wines, each made by a different veteran winemaker.

I had a chance to try a sample of its 2021 Lucky Well Vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir ($75). It’s made from grapes from the Lucky Well vineyard near Occidental that gets its share of breezes off the Pacific Ocean.

It’s an inky plum-garnet color with the fragrance of summer berries, and the taste of cherries and boysenberries with a hint of cinnamon, mint, and brambly earth.

It’s beautiful alongside a pork roast with a berry compote, roast duck, or even prosciutto-topped pizza.

This particular wine is only available to wine club members. However, the winery also offers a number of other Pinot Noirs, priced from $55 to $75. Drop in at its tasting lounge in Kenwood, and you might just be able to sweet talk your way into a taste, too.

Cheers: How did Brion Wise manage to develop his own winery from the ground up? He’s no stranger to doing that with businesses. After getting a chemical engineering degree from Washington State University, he went to work for Shell Oil Co. In 1971, he and three colleagues, pooled together $2,400, to start their own oil company, when he was all of 26 years old. That company, Ecological Engineering Systems (later renamed Western Gas Resources), grew into an international corporation.

T’maro Cacao Nib Liqueur

When Chef Elizabeth Falkner first brought a bottle of her T’maro Cacao Nib Liqueur to her mom to try, she took a long, slow sip, then declared:

“We’re going to need a lot more of this.”

One taste, and you will, too.

Falkner and her life partner and business partner, Heather Freyer, a San Francisco spirits industry veteran, created this beguiling spirit that’s based on amaro, the classic bitter Italian digestive. Typically, it’s made by infusing grape brandy with botanicals and sweetening it with caramelized sugar syrup. Falkner and Freyer, however, took an unconventional approach, creating what is thought to be the only amaro on the market that is distilled from and sweetened with organic dates from the Coachella Valley.

They took that one step further to infuse their base spirit with Dandelion Chocolate’s single-origin cacao nibs from Ecuador to create this special liqueur. It tastes deeply of roasted chocolate with a hint of coffee and tobacco. Simply put, it’s sensational.

It can be used in cocktails. However, my favorite ways to savor it is either as a small pour in a glass served straight or over vanilla ice cream.

A 375ml bottle ($54.99) is available at K&L Wine Merchants. Or enjoy it in a gift pack that includes not only the Cacao Nib Liqueur but also Equator Coffee espresso, a special Dandelion chocolate bar made with the same cacao nibs, and a cocktail recipe. The gift pack is $99.99 at K&L, and $105.99 at ReserveBar.

K&L also sells T’maro Eau de Vie, the pure distilled date spirit; and T’maro Amaro Liqueur, which combines the date spirit with botanicals and date sweetener.

Cheers: Learn more about how Falkner and Freyer came up with this unique date spirit by reading my story in the Nob Hill Gazette.

Junipero Gin Smoked Rosemary

If you’re a gin fan like I am, you’re definitely going to want to try Junipero Gin Smoked Rosemary that’s made in San Francisco.

Founded in 1996, the company is named for the Spanish word for juniper berry, which is a staple botanical in gins.

This particular gin, of which I received a sample, comes in an eye-catching frosted bottle. It is unfiltered at 98.6 proof.

The taste is herbaceous and woodsy, with subtle smoked rosemary and citrus notes.

A 750ml bottle is $35 and available on the Junipero website. You can also find Junipero gins used at Foreign Cinema in San Francisco, Niku Steakhouse in San Francisco, Copra in San Francisco, Rooh in San Francisco, Paper Plane in San Jose, Shepherd & Sims in Los Gatos, Zola in Palo Alto, East End in Alameda, and other Bay Area restaurants, bars, and retailers.

Cheers: The gin is distilled at the Hotaling & Co. distillery on Pier 50 in San Francisco, which just happens to be next to Oracle Park. So, it’s only appropriate that it’s the official gin of the San Francisco Giants.